Should Gambling Be Legalized?

The impact of gambling on the United States carries both positive and negative effects into our society and communities. Gambling is a leisure activity that usually provides excitement and fun for its players. Gambling also brings tremendous amounts of money into the economy and provides employment. American cities such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City thrive off of the gaming industry. Sure, gambling can be fun and exciting, but at what point does that fun activity develop into a pathological problem? I will contend that the harmful side- effects of gambling far outweigh any positive aspects. Pathological gambling can destroy families, careers, and lives. The reason why casinos are so successful

The patterns and forms of gambling are evolved age by age. The gambling has affected the development of society a lot, including plenty of benefits and costs. They are many types of gambling patterns existed in current society, such as pari-mutuel, lottery, slots, cardroom, Indian Casino, Commercial Casino, greyhound racing, horse racing and so forth. The high reward and low investment always attract more and more people to join in the gambling to try their fortune, lucky enough or unlucky. Gamblers’ fluke mind and

Gambling can be found in places such as casinos, local stores, and online. Over the years, gambling has found more homes. College campuses and college sports are among the various places in which gambling is taking place. College students and more specifically student-athletes are engaging in gambling for various reasons. According to (Huang, Jacobs, Derevensky, Gupta, & Paskus, 2007)“the top 3 reported reasons for student- athlete gambling were “for fun” (75.6%), “to win money” (53%), and “for excitement (52.1%).” College students are participating in all types of gambling most of them being legal. Results from (Huang, Jacobs, Derevensky, Gupta, & Paskus, 2007) study show that “in regards to the types of gambling behavior engaged in by

Gambling has been a popular activity in the United States from the 1600’s to the present day United States. As gambling grows as a worldwide enterprise, it expands the United States with the opportunities it provides and the attention it consumes. Gambling as a whole benefits different recreational activities and events such as sports. Gambling also allows people visiting places like Las Vegas to enjoy playing poker with friends and even winning money after a game of poker or Slot Machine. Gambling allows many activities to be expanded to their full potential and offer people the full

Betting has been looked upon as an unpractical way to go through life in most circumstances. The exceptions are only

After vigorous years of fighting for legalization, Nevada became the first state to legalize casino gambling in 1931, as referenced on Americangaming.org. Following Nevada’s legalization were New Jersey, South Dakota, Iowa, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Louisiana and more. Today, 18 states have commercial casinos, and a total of 30 states offer legalized gambling of any kind. Gambling has transformed over the years, branching out into various games and chances. Some games include slot machines, poker, roulette, blackjack, craps, and bingo. All games have some chance of winning money, however the odds can either be in, or out, of favor. As gambling increases in states nationwide, the exposure through advertisements and offering of free giveaways has caught the eyes of people young, old and in between. Over the past twenty years, gambling has increased by ten-times than before, while the amount of pathological gamblers has remained steady. Nevertheless, although this proves that gambling addiction has not increased over time, it does not defer from the fact that gambling is not a victimless

Gambling can be very beneficial for the state, as it generates large amounts of revenue. It is a popular source of entertainment for the majority of the adult population, but at the same time, is a dangerous one. Gambling can take over peoples lives, deeply harming themselves and those they are close to. This essay will discuss what state policy should be on gambling by weighing the benefits and costs it has on both the state and the general population. First, this essay will explore why gambling should continue to be a legal source of entertainment. Next, it will examine why gambling must be regulated more than it currently is. Finally, it will analyze potential policies and regulations that the state should implement in an attempt to decrease

Gambling is now widely accepted in American culture and in 2013 Americans wagered $119 billion with legal gambling

The concept of gambling has been around since the 1600’s when the original thirteen colonies had their own individual lotteries where people viewed gambling as a “civic responsibility” to play. These lotteries helped establish multiple universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and William and Mary. Gambling has been legal and then banned several times in three different eras; the first era in the 1600’s to mid-1800’s, the second in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, and finally the mid 1900’s to present day where some types of gambling remain legal. Throughout multiple decades, people have constantly bickered back and forth stating their opinions on what defines gambling, and if it should be illegal or legal. More importantly, all types of gambling should be legalized in the United States since multiple types of gambling already exist and are considered legal, it’s improper to permit some and leave others out. Moreover, gambling stimulates the economy by bringing tourism to the area and creating jobs for those in need of one, as well as, making revenue from taxes, benefiting the state and local government.

Gambling is all around the United States, and it can be a dangerous game for families. Many casino’s find gambling as a profit for their Company, since many people from around the United States will come to their casino and try to win it big with their own money. Gambling has been around for many years and a statement made by Worldcasinodirectory.com, stated “To begin with, gambling did not originate in the US- it came to this country with immigrants from Europe, Asia- especially China, and other parts of the world.” The United States was just another victim of an ongoing addiction. By, understanding how gambling reached the borders of The United States, how a notorious gang leader started the empire of gambling, and how an addiction pushes people to their limits, can help understand how gambling has become such a demanding element in a society.

“The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a study before the first Maryland casino opened in 2010, and published it in 2011. They found that nearly 90 percent of Marylanders had gambled, and that 3.4 percent were either pathological gamblers or problem gamblers.” (Massimo) There has been numerous stories of addicted gamblers in debt, gamblers that have lost family and friends from their addictions. There was a man $400,000 in debt, his wife threw him out of the house and told him he could not see his kids again unless he gave up gambling. Also, another gambler went on a 48 hour binge without sleeping and barely eating. A woman faced a jail term for stealing $135,000 to feed her gambling

Gambling is seen as a psychological problem affecting millions of Americans across the country. It is estimated that 20 million Americans have or could develop gambling problems, and about half of these are young adults. Gambling is sometimes connected to spouse and child abuse, bankruptcy, mental breakdowns, substance abuse, theft, divorce, and suicide. It is estimated that people are twice as likely to be a problem or pathological gambler if a casino is within 50 miles of their home. Citizens will also experience alcohol-related problems, as the casinos will be permitted to sell or provide complimentary alcoholic beverages during all hours that they operate (Amend. 5, Sect. 10E).

RCP also suggest that a person is more predisposed to becoming addicted to gambling if someone else in the family – particularly a parent is or has been a problem gambler. This can be partly due to learnt behaviour – by seeing a parent gamble or having been taught to gamble by them, the child will feel that this activity is acceptable and a family activity. Often children are taken to dog or horse racing and encouraged to have a bet. This early initiation into gambling will mean that the symptoms of euphoria and excitement of the activity will be embedded at an early age. Another group of people who are more likely to become addicted to gambling are those who are already dependent or alcohol or illegal drugs and thus are already presenting as having an addictive personalities. It is interesting to note the location of many bookmakers in relation to pubs and social clubs in city centres and housing estates.

Gambling in the words of McLean and Yoder (2005) "means risking something of value, usually money, on an event that has an unknown outcome." In the opinion of the authors, gambling can assume various forms including but not in any way limited to "casino games, betting on sporting events, playing bingo, buying raffle tickets, and playing lotteries" (McLean and Yoder, 2005). Over time, gambling has grown in popularity with the same being legalized in many jurisdictions across the world. However, those opposed to gambling and the legalization of the same continue to cite various reasons in an attempt to backup their assertions. One of the reasons cited by those opposed to gambling according to McLean and Yoder (2005) is that the costs of gambling easily outweigh the benefits associated with the same. This argument advances the idea that the interests of the society override those of an individual. Thus the

Then there are the race tracks. They are now legal in over four fifths of all the states in America. The owners of the track take 18 to 21 percent of money wagered. The bettor has a likelihood of winning only a 0.41 to 0.44 probability of winning. That is about one half of one percent! But, it is a well-known fact that when a man wins at gambling, he is very likely to stay in for another game—and then lose his winnings! It is no wonder that it is called “gambling fever.” It is almost an insanity which grips a person.